Posted in: Ripped To Shreds Ripped To Shreds #12: King Of Kings: Has He Earned His Crown?
By Ripper
Apr 13, 2009 - 9:07:38 PM
Ripped To Shreds #12: King Of Kings: Earning His Crown?
Welcome to the twelfth edition of Ripped To Shreds. Thanks to all of you who responded to my last column.
This week I’ll be taking a look at what used to be one of the IWC’s biggest arguments: Is Triple H being overpushed due to his marriage to the boss’s daughter?
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Last week, Triple H, the King of Kings, stood triumphant in the squared circle following his victory over “Legend Killer” Randy Orton in a main event of Wrestlemania 25. He stood there, victorious over an individual who has shown up relatively frequently on the same career path that Triple H has traveled. The face of Randy Orton is certainly a familiar sight to Triple H, both in and out of kayfabe.
Triple H., with an intimidating 6 foot 5 frame an impressive 260 lbs of muscle,, has unquestionably been regarded as of the biggest names in sports entertainment this decade. With Dick Clark bringing this decade to a close on this year’s New Year’s Eve, Triple H will most likely go down as the biggest name in professional wrestling for these past ten tumultuous years. Through the departures of Steve Austin and The Rock, through the rise of John Cena and tragic Chris Benoit story, Triple H has remained a relatively steady component of WWE’s marquee. Hunter Hearst Helmsley is now recognized as a thirteen time World Champion by World Wrestling Entertainment, only three World Championship reigns away from matching the legendary Ric Flair. It was a classic moment to see Triple H at Wrestlemania 18, standing on the turnbuckle, raising both the WWE and WCW World Tiles belts in the air.
A question that will always follow Triple H around for probably the remainder of his career is a simple one: has Triple H received this tremendous amount of success due to his real life connection with the McMahon family? As it has recently been revealed on WWE television, and as many fans, both casual and insider, have known for a long time now, Trips has married Stephanie McMahon in real life. I understand that this was a much more popular argument back in 2003 through 2005, back when he was the face of World Wrestling Entertainment, and regularly holding World Titles. However, with Triple H regaining his spot as being a very dominant piece of the puzzle, I feel the argument can be made again.
Triple H was without any World Championship gold around his waist for roughly three years from 2005 until 2008 (overlooking his very brief reign back for one night back in 2007), and the accusations during that time period seemed to fizzle away.
Whether this question is popular or not, I’m going to raise it yet again: has Triple H benefited on a professional level from his marriage to the boss’s daughter?
Triple H was a major player back in late ’99 through early ’01, along side some of the very best in the business. Undertaker, Kurt Angle, and especially The Rock and Steve Austin. During that time period he became a four time WWE World Champion. Those accolades are certainly some of the most prestigious in the industry. However, during that time period, Triple H was regarded as a true work horse, and as someone who was truly earning every dollar that WWE put into his pocket. He deserved to be successful, due to his talent and his work ethic. He was loved by the Internet Wrestling Community during that time.
However, when Triple H went on the disabled list due to tearing one of his quadriceps, some claim that he lost his work ethic during that time period. He returned as a more muscular, more built version of himself with a new style of wrestling. He became more methodical and slow paced in the ring, a style that may be slightly compared to The Undertaker.
I will go on record as saying that Triple H has had the best look of anyone in the history of the industry. I might stand alone in that, but I can live with that. During that period of time, many complained at how Triple H was winning match after match as the World Heavyweight Champion, and that he was being overpushed. However, the names he was going over weren’t exactly of the absolute elite in the business, save for Shawn Michaels. He beat Scott Steiner, Kane, Booker T, Rob Van Dam, and Kevin Nash, all of which are reasonable to have to do the job for the sake of the business by putting Triple H over.
Triple H, through his character and through his look, comes across as someone who can be the corner stone of a wrestling company, unlike someone such as Mick Foley, who can make significant contributions while being unable to be a true leader. Back then, Trips had to take a tremendous amount of accusations that he had lost his spark, and was really just going through the motions. I believe that, while Triple H might not have been the ideal choice for the job, he was the best of what was around during that time period. Nash just didn’t get the crowd excited enough, in my opinion, and others around him just weren’t as good of a choice to carry the load as the top guy. Maybe they could have had a collection of top guys, and not just one person carrying the load, but even so, some of those guys really weren’t top candidates to be in the limelight for lengthy periods of time.
A few years and another quad tear later, Triple H is now back in the spotlight. He put over major stars like Batista and John Cena, and play what some would say was a major role in establishing both of those superstars. The generation of wrestling from the Monday Night War has seemingly faded away. Not just through the wrestlers, but through the overall mentality of the company. However, Trips still stands tall after it all. You’d think a guy like him would only be a part of the background now, along with Shawn Michaels, helping the show go on without actually being the show.
But as it is, Trips is more prominent than ever right now. He just defeated Randy Orton, who some say is the present and the future of WWE. Did he deserve it, or did he just receive a special present from his powerful father in law? Is the WWE Championship that he carries over his shoulder really just a special gift from Vince McMahon? This time, however, I am inclined to raise a stronger argument. This time, the top talent that surrounds Trips is of a higher level than in 2003. Edge, Randy Orton, and Chris Jericho (an improved one at that) are all credible stars and have proven they can carry the load that Triple H has been carrying for the better part of the last year or so.
Triple H. for better and for worse, can make contributions to the company just as well as the people listed can. Whether this is popular to say or not, I really do believe that Triple H is benefiting on a professional level from being the husband of Stephanie McMahon. However, I only believe it is on a small level, and is really only getting the icing on the cake. Triple H would be competing for the title and against other top stars right now, whether he married the boss’s daughter or not. However, having a long, successful reign as champion is just sweetening the deal a little bit. He has regained some spark, and while he may not be at his best as a face, he is still worth watching. Maybe he would still only be a ten time champ without being Vince’s son in law, but I feel he certainly would still be main eventing Raw, Smackdown, and pay per views anyways.
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